The Canadian flag flies on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in this file photo. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld
Canada should revamp its immigration framework to emphasize merit-based selection and prevent highly skilled professionals with strong economic potential from being overlooked, a new report recommends.
The C.D. Howe Institute made the recommendation in its Oct. 15 report, “The Productivity Blueprint: An Agenda for Higher Living Standards in Canada.”
The report argues that Canada should prioritize skilled immigration applicants based on their likelihood of economic success, using criteria such as education, work experience, language skills, and demonstrated earning ability.
The report said the former government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced category-based selection in 2023, allowing Ottawa to invite candidates based on specific occupations or French-language proficiency rather than relying solely on overall Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) rankings. It argued that this approach can exclude highly skilled candidates with stronger prospects for labour market success.
“The change squeezes out highly skilled candidates and has drawn little public debate,” the report said.
The 2023 change introduced category-based selection into Express Entry, Canada’s system for managing skilled-worker permanent residence applications. It retained the points-based ranking system but added invitation rounds targeting candidates with experience in priority occupations or French-language proficiency.
Ottawa said at the time that Express Entry would begin inviting candidates based on strong French-language proficiency or work experience in health care, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), trades, transport, and agriculture and agri-food.
The government said the changes would address labour shortages and support French-speaking communities.
The C.D. Howe report recommended restoring the Comprehensive Ranking System’s role in selecting applicants and revising its criteria to better predict economic success. Its recommendations included considering applicants’ educational institutions, fields of study, official language proficiency, and pre-admission earnings, while establishing a minimum qualifying score.
Ottawa plans to change Express Entry scoring starting Nov. 3, awarding additional points for qualifying Canadian work experience or job offers in eligible high-wage occupations, Immigration Minister Lena Diab announced this month. The new rules will award more points at higher wage thresholds, beginning with occupations whose median wages are at least 1.3 times the average median wage of the Canadian workforce.
The government will also temporarily waive the Labour Market Impact Assessment requirement for qualifying job offers. This will remove the requirement for employers to demonstrate that they cannot find a qualified Canadian, a change Ottawa says will simplify applications and help attract immigrants in high-paying fields.
The think tank also recommended preserving high-skill temporary foreign worker programs, such as the Global Talent Stream, while “sharply reducing” reliance on low-wage foreign labour.
Canada should select business immigrants based on their entrepreneurial capacity and ability to increase business investment, the report said. It also recommended setting immigration levels to raise GDP per capita rather than meet annual admissions targets.
The report said barriers to recognizing foreign credentials and work experience prevent some skilled immigrants from working in their professions. It urged provinces and regulatory bodies to speed up recognition, recommending pre-arrival assessments and mutual recognition agreements to help newcomers enter their professions sooner.
A joint federal-provincial agency should assess the quality and programs of foreign educational institutions to help verify applicants’ credentials, the report added.
Employers, including small and medium-sized businesses, also need a database of program equivalencies to assess foreign qualifications, the think tank said.
It recommended creating a single digital entry point across provinces, with standard forms, fees, and public reporting on processing times, to simplify what it called a “patchwork” system workers must navigate when seeking recognition in different provinces.
With files from the Canadian Press.
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